Regal Quality Cleaners puts people first

A growing business grows its people, a philosophy that drives Shawn Dark, owner of Regal Quality Cleaning and Guardian Images, his newest company. A Navy reservist, Dark also teaches flight classes full time and flies a T-6 on the weekends. He still finds time for his wife and three kids, mainly because of that philosophy of delegating responsibilities to trusted leaders within the company.
“My calling is growing people one day at a time,” he told Corpus Christi Business News. “If they are growing, the business will grow. If you focus on the bottom line, everyone knows it. They’ll do their part, but they are only going to go so far.”
Regal Quality Cleaning offers an opportunity for advancement, Dark said. The company cleans 60 properties, including Whataburger Field and Incarnate Word Academy. When he bought Regal Quality Cleaning eight years ago, it only had 15 properties. 
While Incarnate Word is the premiere account, Whataburger Field is the most fun. 
“It takes 12 people five hours to clean,” he said. “The guys have it down to an art form. It’s amazing to watch.” 
The crew begins with a pow-wow before taking the field. They start in “the bowl,” picking up large trash items. Blowers come out for the popcorn and peanut shells before water hoses wash down the sticky spilled sodas and beer. 
Incarnate Word gets its own special treatment and attention. The crew takes special care with health issues, making sure to clean touch points for infectious control. Classrooms are sanitized when any illnesses are reported. 
“We are very sensitive to the cleaning needs of our companies,” Dark said. “ We work as professionally as possible.”
Which means his crews are seen and not heard, or maybe not even seen at all if cleaning after hours.
“We understand our clients need to focus on what their business is, not on maintaining their facilities,” Dark said. “If we maintain the facilities, their staff can come in the next morning and go straight to work and do what their business is all about.”
Dark learned his own leadership skills through his involvement with the Global Leadership Summit, an annual two-day event broadcast from Chicago to feeder sites. In Corpus Christi, Yorktown Baptist Church hosts the summit, which features some of the nation’s biggest business leaders. 
“If you go and look at the business greats, their leadership is about people — growing people,” Dark said. “If you look at the Bible and scripture, God is about people. He’s not about the bottom line. He’s not about assets. He’s about people. If you invest in people, they will turn around and invest in what they consider their home.”
Which leaves Dark time for his start-up, Guardian Images, which was recently accepted by the Coastal Bend Innovation Center, a small-business incubator at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. 
“I love, love, love being over there,” Dark said of the innovation center. “Those folks on the second floor are really great. That’s my second office.” 
Guardian Imagery uses unmanned flight systems, or drones, to capture images, a budding new industry preparing for the FAA to eventually lift the ban on using drones for commercial purposes. As a pilot, Dark sees a natural connection.
The New Mexico native also feels connected to the Corpus Christi area, where he met his wife on his many Navy visits. After settling here, he earned a master’s degree in business administration, which led him to buy Regal. He turned the cleaning business into a growing company before starting his own. He still has plans for Regal.
“What I would really like to see happen with Regal is that we continue to firm up our foundation here in Corpus Christi and then move out regionally,” he said. “Right now, we can service Kingsville, Mathis and Rockport fairly easily. I would like to break into San Antonio, Austin and Victoria.”
To see about having Regal Quality Cleaning maintain your business or home, call Dark at (361) 288-7037. For more information, go to corpuschristicleaningcompany.net.